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'Modern Family's Ed O'Neill unwittingly takes pic with Britney Spears, goes viral

By Yvette C. Hammett
Singer Britney Spears appears backstage with the Millennium Award in May 22. "Modern Family" star Ed O'Neill admitted on the "Ellen" Monday he didn't realize he was taking a picture with her when "a fan" approached him at Los Angeles International Airport last year. Spears posted the photo on Twitter and it went viral. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 3 | Singer Britney Spears appears backstage with the Millennium Award in May 22. "Modern Family" star Ed O'Neill admitted on the "Ellen" Monday he didn't realize he was taking a picture with her when "a fan" approached him at Los Angeles International Airport last year. Spears posted the photo on Twitter and it went viral. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

LOS ANGELES, June 14 (UPI) -- Modern Family's Ed O'Neill happily obliged a fan at LAX while on his way to Hawaii last year, unwittingly taking a photo with Britney Spears that went viral on Twitter.

The television star admitted Monday on the Ellen that he didn't recognize the world-famous pop superstar last year when she approached him for the photo at the Los Angeles International Airport.

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"She came up and said, 'Oh, Mr. O'Neill, I love Modern Family and you're my favorite on the show.' And I said, 'Well, I'm here. I'm the only one here,'" he joked, adding that the fan "couldn't have been nicer."

O'Neill received a text from his manager the very next day, letting him know he had unknowingly taken a picture with Spears and it received thousands of "likes" it when she posted it to her social media.

O'Neill, 70, didn't even muster a smile when he took the photo with the "Toxic" singer, who has over 45 million Twitter followers.

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